Detection treatment of paper money and other negotiable paper



Sept. 13, 1966 M. F. ALLEN DETECTION TREATMENT OF PAPER MONEY AND OTHER NEGOTIABLE PAPER Filed Oct. 5, 1964 H mm DDQDILJW M V- f INVENTOR 5" BYW ATTORNEY United States Patent Office 3,272,533 Patented Sept. 13, 1966 3,272,533 DETEC'HUJN TREATMENT F PAPER MONEY AND (BTHER NEGUEIABLE PAPER Milton F. Allen, Decatur, Gan, assiguor to Milton Frank Alien Publications, lnc., Decatur, Ga, a corporation of Georgia Filed 6st. 5, 1964, Ser. No. 401,596 ill Claims. (Ci. 2837) This invention relates to the detection treatment of paper money and other negotiable paper, and it has particular reference to such treatment of paper money that if it is stolen, or otherwise falls into unauthorized hands, it will leave on the person of the thief or robber, or other unauthorized person, or on, or in, his clothing or personal articles which come in contact, or close association, with it, a distinctive odor produced by residue of the treating material, thus leading to the possible, or probable, inference that he had had the money in his possession and may properly be charged with the theft or robbery, or other unauthorized possession of the money, when apprehended.

Thus, one object of the invention is to aid law enforcement officers in the detection and apprehension of criminals and their ultimate conviction.

Another object is, by risk of apprehension and possible conviction of offenders, to act as a deterrent to the perpetration of the criminal acts of robbery, theft, pilferage and the like.

With these primary objects in view, the invention has, as a further object, the treatment of paper money and other negotiable paper with a material or substance which, when applied as a thin coating, gives off a distinctive odor not particularly noticeable in the open air, or where the circulation of air is relatively free, but will, when the said negotiables are deposited in a relatively confined or restricted space without appreciable circulation of air, such as in a purse, pocketbook, bill fold, clothing pocket or the like, serve to transmit thereto the said distinctive odor which will retain its potency therein for an appreciable length of time. Such odor-producing treating material may be applied directly to the surface, or surfaces, of the negotiable paper or money, or it may be carried within a small container or tube secured to one of such surfaces, the said container or tube being so small and brittle as normally to be unnoticed and to be broken intentionally, or unintentionally, during handling of the negotiable paper or money, thus to release the odor-producing treating material upon the adjacent surface of the same.

Particularly as regards the treatment of paper money with the odor-producing material, it is expedient that one or more bills so treated by placed in a compartment of a cash drawer or till reserved for such treated bills and their possible use, and thus, when a demand is made on the teller or other custodian to hand over the contents of the drawer or till to a thief or robber, the treated bills will be tendered also and will transfer to such miscreant the distintive odor of the treating material. Also, when the treating material is confined in a container or tube, the teller will, in handing over the contents of such compartment, break the container or tube on the bill to which it is attached and thus release the odor-producing material.

Should the teller, or other victim of the theft, fail in the effort to break the container or tube, or forget to do so, the thief will, in all probability, unintentionally break it as a consequence of normal handling of the currency.

Moreover, should the thief by-pass the teller or other custodian, or otherwise personally and directly take the treated paper money by his own hands from the cash drawer, safe, vault or other depository of any bank or merchant, he would likewise take the distinctive odor with him as a result of breaking of the tube, unnoticed at the time, in his normal handling of such treated currency.

Also, as a further object, one or both sides of the money or negotiable paper, in addition to the odor-producing substance, may be furnished with a deposit of a substance or material which will be transferred to the skin and/ or clothing of the person handling it, such material or substance being, optionally, of a kind which will be invisible until viewed under ultra violet light and hence not noticeable to the person whose skin and/ or clothing bears it, or of a kind which will leave a long-lasting, or relatively indelible, visible stain upon the skin and/or clothing of such person, thus providing additional assurance that a transfer of one or more of the telltale substances will be made to the person, clothing or personal articles of the unauthorized person having possession of the negotiables.

With these and other objects in view, as will become apparent from the following description, the invention comprises the method of treatment of paper money and other negotiable paper with a treating material which, When applied as a thin coating, gives off a distinctive odor which, in the open air, or where the circulation of air is relatively free, is substantially unnoticeable, but which is capable, when in a relatively confined space, with limited air supply, of imparting its distinctive odor in a rather concentrated form to such negotiables and to any articles in contact with, or in proximity to, such negotiables. The invention comprises, also, in combination with the application of such odor-producing material, of the application to the negotiables of a treating material, or materials, having the property of transferring to the skin and/ or clothing of handlers of the negotiables stains distinguishable optionally under ultra violet light, or to the naked eye. And the invention comprises, further, the paper money or negotiable paper treated in the manner, or manners, aforesaid, all as will be explained hereinafter more fully and finally claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, in the several figures of which, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention, like parts are similarly designated,

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a one-dollar bill showing the reverse side thereof treated within the principle of the invention,

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but showing the treating material contained within a frangible container or tube,

FIG. 3 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary view of parts shown in FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a further enlarged fragmentary section taken on the line 44 of FIG. 3.

The treating material used for emanating a distinctive odor in accordance with the invention, particularly as applied to paper money, is preferably diacetyl, in that its color (yellowish-green) will blend well with, and be practically indistinguishable from, the color employed on the reverse side of currency of the United States.

However, other chemicals may be employed for this purpose, such, for example, as ethyl mercaptan, tertiary butyl mercaptan, diethyl sulfide, octyl aldehyde and diphenyl oxide. If desired, these chemicals, including diacetyl, may have added to them an oil in the nature of a fixative to prolong the odor-producing effectiveness of the chemicals. Mineral oils are considered to be effective in this connection, and their addition may be in amounts of from 5% to 10%, but preferably not over 10%, by volume.

Moreover, although the odor-producing material used will vaporize, its vaporization is not rapid, as hereinbebore explained, under ordinary conditions of use of the currency to which it is applied in accordance with the invention, such as in the currency drawers of banks, cash registers and other normal depositories, and hence its presence will not normally be noticed. However, when it is in confined surroundings, as would be the case when the currency so treated is carried, for example, on the person, or in a constricted environment, as in a substantially closed receptacle, pocketbook, bill fold or clothing pocket, its vapors carrying its distinctive odor will permeate the confined space thus occasioned and will tend to impregnate the articles with which it is closely associated.

It will be appreciated, also, that when the odor-producing treated material is confined within a container or tube it will not be released onto, or will not impregnate, the paper money or other negotiable paper until the container or tube is broken, and hence its odor will not be sensible during the cautious, circumspect handling of such negotiables or their ordinary storage in a cash drawer or other receptacle. Furthermore, the container or tube will be of such a nature, and made of such material, that it may be broken either intentionally or unintentionally by a bank teller, or other handler, to release the odor-producing material, such breaking resulting only in a faint snapping or crackling sound relatively indistinguishable from the sound produced during the ordinary handling of paper money or other negotiables. Such a sound likewise would not, in all probability, be noticed by the miscreant in the unintentional breaking of the tube in his normal handling of such treated currency or paper.

The treating material used for producing skin stains which are normally invisible but become visible under ultra violet light, may preferably be a fluorescent powder known as Glo-Craft Invisible Stain Powder S195, produced by Switzer Brothers, Inc., of Cleveland, Ohio (chemical composition not ascertainable), or anthracene, and the treating material used for producing skin stains visible to the naked eye may preferably be malachite green or silver nitrate. Other similarly functioning staining materials may, however, be used, but GlO-Craft 8-195 and malachite green have been chosen as particularly suitable because of their yellowish green, and green, colors, respectively, which blend practically indistinguishably with the coloration of the reverse side ornamental coloring of United States currency.

Having reference to FIG. 1 of the drawing, it will be seen that the odor-producing material, or the material which may be transferra'ble to the skin and/or clothing of a handler, may be applied as a smear or coating, and particularly in the case of the transferrable material as a powder, to either one or both surfaces of the money 1 or other negotiable, as indicated by the diagonal shading 2, and it may be so applied as to cover the entire surface or only portions thereof.

As shown in FIG. 2, and in greater detail in FIGS. 3 and 4, the material, and primarily the odor-producing material, is enclosed within a small, substantially indistinguishable, container or tube 3 having disposed longitudinally interiorly thereof a thread or filament 4, preferably colored green to effect its concealment against the similarly colored decorations on the reverse side of the currency to which the tube is preferably attached, the ends of the tube being sealed with plugs 5 of a suitable material such as sealing clay or other plastic substance. The tube 3 is secured to the money or other negotiable by a deposit or coating 6 of a suitable adhesive. Thus, the adhesive 6 may also provide another, or double, seal for the odor-producing material at both ends of the tube 3.

Obviously, therefore, when the tube 3 is broken the odor-producing material will be released and the thread or filament 4 will aid in its flow from the tube.

As hereinbefore stated, the container or tube 3 will be made of a brittle, readily fracturable material, such as a brittle plastic, glass or the like, and its intentional or accidental fracture, as by a bank teller or other custodian will be easy and not noticeable by a robber, thief or other miscreant who demands that the teller or custodian turn over to him the contents of the cash drawer or till.

However, when the money or other negotiables are carried by the thief, say in his pocketbook, bill fold, clothing pocket, or other confined space, the vapors carrying the distinctive odor of the thus released odor-producing material will permeate the adjacent confining surfaces and will be readily recognizable for an appreciable time, such, for example, as may be necessary to apprehend the criminal.

Hence, money primarily, when thus treated, will be traceable to the thief because of the distinctive odor of the material, and if he has disposed of the money he can still be charged with its theft because of the presence of the distinctive odor in his clothing or possessions.

Furthermore, it is feasible to train police dogs to recognize the distinctive odor of the treating material to thus enable them to track down culprits.

It will be understood, as hereinbefore mentioned, that the odor-producing material may 'be used alone or in combination with staining material, thus providing for combinations, or varieties, of ways for identifying miscreants who have had the money or negotiables in their possession.

As has hereinbefore been noted, the treating materials used may be of a color, or colors, not readily distinguishable from the colors, particularly green, used. in the ornamentation of paper money and various other negotiables, and hence the presence of the materials is not readily discernible and gives no warning to criminals that detection treatment is present.

Various changes and modifications are considered to be within the principle of the invention and the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

l. The method of treating paper money and other negotiable paper for the purpose of imparting to unauthorized handlers and carriers thereof telltale residua of the treating material, which comprises applying to a surface of the said negotiable paper and confined within a frangible container affixed to such surface a treating material of a vaporizable character having a distinctive odor not readily noticeable in the open air or where circulation of air is relatively free but capable when confined in a relatively restricted space with a paucity of air of imparting such odor in readily distinguishable concentration to the negotiable paper and to adjacent articles such as a purse, pocketbook, bill fold, clothing pocket and the like on the person of the unauthorized handler and thus aid in his detection.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, in which the said frangible container is a tube and is provided interiorly with a filament which, when the tube is broken, will assist in effecting emptying the treating material from the tube.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, and including also a treating material applied directly to a surface of the negotiable paper and capable of being lifted by and upon the skin and clothing of the unauthorized person from the surface of the negotiable paper and of applying an ultimately visible stain to the skin and clothing.

4. A piece of paper money, and other negotiable paper, having applied to at least one of its faces a treating material capable in a paucity of air of emanating a distinctive odor which will in a sense impregnate said piece and articles in close association with said piece, said treating material being confined within a sealed container afiixed to said piece, said container being a brittle tube readily frangible to release said treating material.

5. A piece of paper money, and other negotiable paper, as defined in claim 4, in which said container is provided with a filament enclosed therein and serving upon fracture of said container to aid in release of the treating material therefrom.

6. A piece of paper money, and other negotia'ble paper 5 as defined in claim 4, wherein the treating material is diacetyl.

7. A piece of paper money, and other negotiable paper as defined in claim 4, wherein the treating material is ethyl mercaptan.

8. A piece of paper money, and other negotiable paper as defined in claim 4, wherein the treating material is tertiary butyl mercaptan.

9. A piece of paper money, and other negotiable paper as defined in claim 4, wherein the treating material is diethyl sulfide.

10. A piece of paper money, and other negotiable paper as defined in claim 4, wherein the treating material is octyl aldehyde.

11. A piece of paper money, and other negotiable paper as defined in claim 4, wherein the treating material is diphenyl oxide.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,516,454 11/1929 Norton.

2,102,858 12/1937 Schlubohm 2065 X 2,255,696 9/1941 Cliiford 1171 X 2,548,366 4/1951 Green et a1 28228 X 2,550,469 4/1951 Green et a1. 28228 X 2,717,174 9/1955 Casanovas 239-56 2,938,292 5/1960 Jaskowsky et a1 117--1 X 2,940,449 6/ 1960 Thomson 239-34 X 3,048,697 8/1962 Cavanaugh et al 283-7 X 3,053,416 9/1962 Harner 1162 X OTHER REFERENCES Forensic Chemistry, by Lucas, published 1921, pages 142, 143.

LAWRENCE CHARLES, Primary Examiner. 

1. THE METHOD OF TREATING PAPER MONEY AND OTHER NEGOTIABLE PAPER FOR THE PURPOSE OF IMPARTING TO UNAUTHORIZED HANDLERS AND CARRIERS THEREOF TELLTALE RESIDUA OF THE TREATING MATERIAL, WHICH COMPRISES APPLYING TO A SURFACE OF THE SAID NEGOTIABLE PAPER AND CONFINED WITHIN A FRANGIBLE CONTAINER AFFIXED TO SUCH SURFACE A TREATING MATERIAL OF A VAPORIZABLE CHARACTER HAVING A DISTINCTIVE ODOR NOT READILY NOTICEABLE IN THE OPEN AIR OR WHERE CIRCULATION OF AIR IS RELATIVELY FREE BUT CAPABLE WHEN CONFINED IN A RELATIVELY RESTRICTED SPACE WITH A PAUCITY OF AIR OF IMPARTING SUCH ODOR IN READILY DISTINGUISHABLE CONCENTRATION TO THE NEGOTIABLE PAPER AND TO ADJACENT ARTICLES SUCH AS A PURSE, POCKETBOOK, BILL FOLD, CLOTHING POCKET AND THE LIKE ON THE PERSON OF THE UNAUTHORIZED HANDLER AND THUS AID IN HIS DETECTION. 